Finished Business: An Oral History of Michigan's 2021 NCAA Title
5/6/2021 9:45:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
By Conor Stemme
The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team's motivation for its 2021 national championship season started way back in March 2020 when that season was cut short by COVID-19. Team 44 had worked so hard, had scored a program-record 197.95 to secure the Big Ten regular-season championship a few weeks prior, and was looking forward to making an impact in the postseason. The Wolverines were crushed by the news, and at that moment the members of Team 45 decided they had unfinished business.
Team 45 had to deal with injuries, rough meets, and COVID pauses in 2021. When Michigan Athletics shut down for two weeks starting Jan. 23, the team decided to use it as a reset after a rough previous meet. A few weeks later a three-event specialist captain was injured, but the team did not give up. After the disappointment of not winning the Big Ten regular-season and postseason titles as heavy favorites, the student-athletes and coaches readjusted their focus and energy on bigger goals in the NCAA postseason.
The team could draw on major successes achieved throughout the season. In March, Michigan broke the team score program record twice and set a balance beam team record in addition to posting the best vault score of the season for any team in the NCAA. A perfect 10 on beam and two perfect vaults were among many standout individual performances with great routines week in and out on every event.
Michigan regained that momentum and carried it through the NCAA postseason. The Wolverines won a tough regional, tying the program record of 198.100 that was set only weeks before, and they entered nationals prepared to complete their unfinished business.
After qualifying to go to nationals with a strong performance at the NCAA Regional in West Virginia, the Wolverines had a week before they left for Fort Worth, Texas, and they were on a mission at practice.
Gabby Wilson: The mission was the fact that we were good enough to win and we had to win. We had to practice like we knew we could win.
Head Coach Bev Plocki: One of the last days before we left, at the end of practice I just said to the team, "Do you have any idea how good you are?" And it was kind of quiet. "I've been walking around here watching you practice. I've been watching 9.9 after 9.9 after 9.9 level beam routines. Our floor landings have been spot on and improved so much. I'm seeing handstands and stuck dismounts on bars. We've just finished a vault rotation where it was like stick after stick after stick. I want you guys to go to nationals and just be enjoy every moment of it."
The team arrived in Fort Worth ready to compete but first had to go through a day of COVID testing. Two days after arriving, it was finally practice day for the first time in the new Dickies Arena.
Natalie Wojcik: It set the tone for the entire weekend. I just had a lot of fun practicing, and I think it helped me feel more comfortable going into that two days of competition.
After practice day, the team returned to the hotel and one more COVID test. After a good dinner and negative COVID tests, everyone went to bed ready for the competition in the morning. Day one of nationals began with a strong showing on balance beam (Brooks 9.95, Heiskell 9.9). Floor exercise was next, and Michigan put its previous challenges firmly in the past, scoring a 49.65 with every counting score above a 9.9 including another 9.95 from Brooks. Michigan's season-long best event, vault, was its lowest-scoring event this day, as no one stuck her landing. Uneven bars was last, and Brooks led the way again with a 9.925. At meet's end, Michigan had won its session and advanced to day two, ready to improve on what already was a great season.
Volunteer Coach Lexi Funk: I felt like we had a great meet, but also there were some things that we could improve on from that day now that we knew we were going into day two.
The team headed back to the hotel to recover with a feeling of accomplishment, knowing that no matter what happened the next day, the Wolverines would have their best national finish since 2001. But they wanted more than a fourth-place finish. Plocki told her team that the pressure was off, whatever happened she would not be disappointed, and to just go out and do their gymnastics. The team meeting ended with a rousing "Hail to the Victors."
Funk: At the team meeting, it seemed like everyone was really on the same page of: "We got this, this is our meet. We're not going to be complacent. We know we have to work for it, but absolutely we can do this."
Naomi Morrison: I don't know why, but it gave me chills because I looked around the room and everyone is doing it. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool. I go to Michigan.
It was finally meet day for Team 45, and the Wolverines were ready and raring to go.
Nicoletta Koulos: We all just woke up with beaming smiles. Eating breakfast together, we were all pumped. We were pumping each other up in the hotel rooms by jumping from room to room, doing everyone's hair and makeup and stuff and just look good, feel good kind of thing.
Coming into the arena on the final day, a tumult of emotions and thoughts coursed through everyone's mind: the relief of being here after a hard-fought season, the pure joy of competition. Team 45 fulfilled a vow that Wojcik had made her freshman year, after winning the individual beam championship but with Michigan not qualifying as a team.
Wojcik: I remember sitting in the stands freshman year watching the finals and I took a picture and sent it to our team group chat. I said we will never sit in the stands for that meet again. We will make sure that we're competing. So just to be able to be back and accomplish that as a team was so special.
Morrison: I feel so confident in our team and what we can do. And I feel like everyone's confident in their training. And I was like, let's go out and have fun because we literally have nothing to lose. It's just go out and give it our all.
Jenna Mulligan: Walking into the arena I thought I was going to be super nervous and just like overwhelmed, but it just wasn't like that at all. I kind of walked in and was like, you know, this is our arena. This is our day, and we can do this. I'd say it kind of just stayed like that throughout the whole meet.
The Wolverines felt like they belonged at this meet and that today was their day. Open stretch showed that Michigan was ready, confident and having fun. This moment had been building for years under Plocki.
Assistant Coach Maile'ana Kanewa-Hermelyn: Bev has been here for 32 years and has an undying, unmatched dedication to this university. The culture she's built, the history she's made. It's great to be a part of it.
Abby Heiskell: We are over here trying to stick a front tuck and screaming about it. I think creating those fun, little silly moments and keeping the energy high and the spirits light, that's what really made that whole meet fun.
Anna Dayton: Our focus is always just on the team. So, we were really just trying to stay together as a unit because we always do our best when we're just focused on ourselves.
The team had a great stretch and headed back to the locker room.
Plocki: Just trust yourself, believe in your ability, and take in every moment of this. I want you to enjoy every moment of it from the beginning to the end. Let's just do it for us.
Rotation 1 | Floor Exercise
There was nothing to lose for this team as the gymnasts took in every moment of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The team knew what it had to do when starting the meet on floor, the Michigan's lowest ranked event.
Kanewa-Hermelyn: To succeed the team needed nothing fancy, nothing more, nothing less, but the same thing that they do every single day in the gym and to keep it calm, cool and collected.
Sierra Brooks: Before we competed on floor, they were doing all of the Jumbotron stuff. I was next to Gabby, and I said this is so cool. Just being at NCAAs and knowing that we were the ones that other people were watching. It was so overwhelming but so cool. That was definitely a big moment where it was, oh my gosh, we're actually competing here.
Nicoletta Koulos
Carly Bauman: It's a little bit nerve wracking, but honestly, it's so much fun just to start off the event and you're the first one done. So, once you're finished, you can cheer on your team just as loud as you can. And it's just, it's an honor to start off the team and I love it.
Wilson: When Carly hit her first pass, we're in this, it is starting now. And all we can do is ride until the end and we have to finish this the best that we can. I think coming in with that mentality that we are not giving up no matter what, it made it impossible to give up. We ended up doing so well that we didn't have to even think about giving up.
Koulos: Bev told me before I went on the floor "Be beautiful" and gave me knuckles and that was it. I feel like I had so much confidence and I was just going out there to have fun and really put on a show.
Heiskell: One of the most exciting things for me was just getting started on floor. It's kind of been a variable event for us this season, but when Carly went out there and then Nico went out there, then Natalie. We just kept building and building and building, and it just like gives me chills looking back on it. That's the second I knew this is going to be an intense meet.
Wilson: You really manage the energy that people are feeding off. While they're doing their routines, I would be cheering the loudest. I'm last, so I had time to like rest. I needed to be cheering to make sure that I'm able to feed off the energy before I go. We were able to put floor together at the right time, and that's what matters.
Bauman led off with a 9.8125, which would eventually be dropped. Koulos followed with a 9.9125, and Wojcik scored a 9.95. Heiskell continued the momentum with a 9.9125. Brooks and Wilson finished up the floor with scores of 9.9125 and 9.9375, respectively. After the first rotation, Michigan was leading by 0.05 over Oklahoma with its best event, vault, up next.
Rotation 2 | Vault
Plocki: I said to the team before vault to just go and do what they do in practice and see how many vaults they could stick.
Lauren Farley: I felt like immediately when they started just sticking them, I could feel it. I go, this is our meet, we've got this.
Gabby Wilson
Wojcik: The vault rotation was one of the highlights of the meet for me. Being in the second spot in the lineup, my job is to help get the team off to a confident start. On vault, I always tell the person after me, "Keep it going." And the rest of the lineup did exactly that.
Kanewa-Hermelyn: After not having any stuck landings the day before and then coming the next day and sticking three of our six vaults and the other three being controlled steps in nice vaults themselves, I think that was awesome.
Abby Brenner: I've been telling everyone ever since vault, when we started dropping in those vaults and sticking them, I knew it was our day.
Funk: I kept noticing that after each event, we were still up there first on the scoreboard, whether it was by a half a 10th, a quarter of a 10th, a couple 10ths, we were still up.
The team had the highest vault score of the championship meet with a 49.65. Heiskell started off with a 9.975, receiving 10s from half of the judges, with Wojcik following and sticking, earning a 9.9375. The team did not slow down, eventually dropping a 9.875 and counting a 9.975 from Brooks, who earned three 10s as well. After two events, Michigan had the lead over Oklahoma by a slim .1375 with bars up next.
Rotation 3 | Uneven Bars
Brooks: The energy going into and on bars was great on championship day. Bars has been one of our most consistent strengths throughout the season, and having already finished floor and vault, we were beyond excited to compete bars. I don't think there was really any hesitance or doubt within anyone. Instead, we were just excited to keep the meet rolling as it had.
Brenner: I just wanted to really go out there and hit a bar routine after being hurt. I was extremely nervous, not going to lie, because I said, okay, the last meet of the year, here it is, and there is a lot relying on it. At the end of the day, right before my deep breath, before I go on the bar, I just said, you know, this is your time to shine. Take some advice that you give to other girls and just enjoy the moment. So, it was a pretty incredible feeling.
Abby Brenner and associate head coach Scott Sherman
Anne Maxim: That was so precious to see, and Brenner did such a great job. So that was the icing on the cake too. Just to see her cry after that routine, it just like touched my heart.
Brooks: Personally, I was really happy with my routine. Bars is an event that I love competing, and I tried to do a routine just like all the ones that we've done in practice. I've worked hard on fixing the small things, and all that effort paid off that weekend.
Wojcik: I went into day two and made all my routines in warmups and then tried to stay really mentally tough when I went into my competition routine and do everything in my power to make sure that I didn't fall again.
After three rotations, Michigan had yet to trail and was ahead of Oklahoma by an uncomfortably small .1375 and Utah by .1625. Brooks and Brenner tied for team lead on bars, both earning 9.925s, with Heiskell close behind at a 9.9125. Michigan had beam left to go; everyone had to calm their nerves and find their place.
Rotation 4 | Balance Beam
Plocki: Every meet we always get together and we talk about getting ready to go to beam. We get to take that deep breath, hold it for a second, then when we exhale, we exhale out all of that nervous energy and extra adrenaline which you don't want.
Kanewa-Hermelyn: Carly Bauman was a great leadoff who got that beam team started off strong. They fought every step of the way, and that's what I love is that fight that determination and that grit.
Farley: I just have a job to do, stay on the beam. I was thinking about that and just trying to just enjoy those last moments that I had competing.
Michigan had three routines left -- Brooks, Wojcik and Heiskell -- and the gap was tightening with Oklahoma on floor.
Brooks: I was seeing like our first few routines weren't our best hits. We've had better before, and I knew I was coming up, and I was like there's no way we lose this. I'm not letting us lose this meet because this team deserves everything, and we deserve to win this meet.
Plocki: As those last routines are kind of coming down and, and you start to realize that, Oh my gosh, this might actually happen. My heart was beating. I don't know that I would say that I was nervous as much as it was just the anticipation and almost being afraid to get too excited too quickly.
Sierra Brooks
Natalie Wojcik
Brooks set the tone for the dramatic finale, earning the second highest beam score of the team finals, 9.9625. Wojcik followed with the highest beam score of the day (9.9875), putting the Wolverines in position to win their first national championship. As Heiskell mounted the beam, Oklahoma had tied the score at 198.075, with its final floor routine just about to finish. She started with a great cat leap to side aerial. Right before her series and dismount, Oklahoma's final score came in and Michigan trailed for the first time, behind by 0.0875. Heiskell would need a 9.85 for Michigan to win the title.
Kanewa-Hermelyn: We try to do a lot of pressure sets, and we try to do a lot of partner work, but I mean, you can't ever fully prepare for that kind of pressure that Heiskell felt.
Heiskell: I didn't really realize how close it was when I was getting ready to go, but I did know when Sierra went up and hit that stellar routine, then Nat went and did the same thing, they were just setting me up to go and do a normal routine.
Maxim: I had Brenner digging her nails into my shoulder on one side. I was gripping Naomi's hand on the other side, and we were just praying, and we were just watching, and we were just putting all of our trust into her.
Heiskell: I honestly don't even remember because obviously there were nerves, but the second I landed, I didn't know the scores, but I just had this feeling that we had done it.
Abby Heiskell
Dayton: We all kind of knew that we had done it, but we didn't want to jump the gun and celebrate too early, and I think her reaction to just literally hitting the best beam routine ever and knowing that she had done it was most exciting and rewarding for our team.
Bauman: She's (Heiskell) my hero. She's so amazing. She's so talented and such a sweetheart. I just love her. I loved watching her do her beam routine, and she just had so much confidence and the whole beam routine was amazing, and just that finishing landing was so awesome to see.
Now the team had to wait for Heiskell's score. The time from Heiskell's dismount to seeing the score go up on the board was less than two minutes, but it felt like forever. Finally, as Team 45 huddled together, a 9.9250 flashed on the screen! Michigan took the lead back from Oklahoma, scoring a program-record 198.250 and winning the national championship!
Reyna Guggino: We were all standing in the line, looking at the scoreboard, waiting for the score to be put in, and then everybody was just going nuts and jumping up and down.
Brenner: Joy was seeping out. It was a dream come true. Especially as a little girl, always wanting to come to Michigan, they were kind of just like small dreams, working hard, and everything coming true. This was hard work paying off.
Heiskell: I mean, there's no better feeling than seeing that trophy being walked towards you, and it just gets more and more exciting with each step.
Farley: All of the hard things that I've experienced here just made standing up there getting that national championship just so much sweeter because I'm so proud of how far I've come these past four years and what I've been able to accomplish and just being so thankful for my teammates.
Bev Plocki (left) and Sierra Brooks (NCAA Photos)
Plocki: It was obviously happiness beyond belief. Also, I think just a relief. I think there's been so much stress surrounding COVID and all of the restrictions and the fear of something happening and having our season ended like it did last year. It was just such a sense of relief that not only did we make it to the end, but we got the final reward and the payoff for all of it. I just was so happy for the girls because all of their sacrifices, all of their hard work, everything that they had to do and give up for this season.
Guggino: It was all worth it, like the two-week break, all the COVID tests, all of everything, wearing a mask during practice, having to be super careful throughout, like not even just in the gym, like when you want to go even hanging out with your boyfriend, you have to be careful regardless of what you're doing.
Funk: It's just looking back and seeing everything this team has endured throughout the season and in seasons past that's helped get to this point. All the hard work and dedication that went into it paid off. This is the final culmination, and it all came together and was worth it in the end.
Mulligan: This team is really something special, and I'm so excited to see what we do the next three years that I'm here because I think it's going to be great.
The season was over, and the Wolverines were champions. This special group had become the first team in program history to win the national championship, the first Michigan sports team to win an NCAA title since 2014, and only the seventh school in NCAA women's gymnastics history to claim the coveted trophy.
Koulos: I'm so excited for next season when we actually get to have people in the stands.
Brenner: This team was something special, period.
Players Mentioned
